March for Life 2017: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Activists participate in the 2016 March for Life on January 22, 2016 in Washington, DC. (Getty)

Tens of thousands of people are expected to participate in this year’s March for Life on January 27th in Washington, D.C.

The March for Life is an annual anti-abortion rally that takes place on or around the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that said a woman has a right to have an abortion. This year’s rally has earned more attention than usual because the vice president of the United States, Mike Pence, will attend, and President Donald Trump will reportedly call in.

Here’s what you need to know about the 2017 March for Life.

1. It Starts at Noon on the Grounds of the Washington Monument

The March for Life begins at the grounds of the Washington Monument. (Getty)

The 2017 March for Life begins at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the grounds of the Washington Monument.

This rally portion of the event will last for one hour, with several politicians and religious figures speaking. At 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time, the march itself will begin; it will go up Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court and the Capitol Building.

At 3:00 p.m., protesters will listen to testimonies outside of the Supreme Court building.

2. Speakers Include Mike Pence and Kellyanne Conway

Mike Pence and his wife Karen board Air Force Two on January 26, 2017. (Getty)

There are currently 11 speakers lined up for the rally portion of the March for Life, with the biggest name being Vice President Mike Pence; he was just added to the event on Thursday morning. Vice President Pence has had a consistently pro-life record throughout his political career, especially when he was governor of Indiana; in 2016, he signed into law House Bill 1337, which, among other restrictions, bars doctors from performing abortions for women who are seeking them due to fetal abnormalities. The law was later blocked by a federal judge.

This is the first time a vice president has ever attended the March for Life. No president has attended, although a few have delivered remarks remotely.

Also speaking will be Kellyanne Conway, senior counselor to President Donald Trump. She is the first woman to ever run a successful presidential campaign in the United States.

The rest of the day’s speakers will be:

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York City

Benjamin Watson, an athlete who plays for the Baltimore Ravens

Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood director who resigned in 2009 and became an anti-abortion activist

Karyme Lozano, an actor known for starring in a number of telenovelas

Eric Metaxas, an author and talk show host

Bishop Vincent Mathews Jr., president at Church of God In Christ World Missions.

3. The Theme is ‘The Power of One’

Pro-life activists hold up signs at the 2016 March for Life event. (Getty)

The 2017 March for Life has a theme this year of “The Power of One.” On its social media pages, the organization has described this as the idea that one person can make a difference in the world and that babies that are aborted don’t have the chance to do so.

Through its website, the March for Life has been asking participants to send in stories of how someone has impacted them with the cause of life or how they personally made a difference in their community for life. Many of these submissions come from people who were put in a situation where they considered getting an abortion but decided against it.

One story, for example, is from a woman who says she got pregnant at the age of 19 and went to Planned Parenthood to receive an abortion, but she says she instantly regretted it as soon as she took the first of two pills.

“I looked online for help, but found nothing until I finally came across abortionpillreversal.com,” she writes. “The site offered a hotline number, and when I called, a nurse from a pregnancy center answered and explained that a regimen had just been released to reverse the abortion pill I had taken. I knew it wasn’t certain to work, but I was desperate. She found (and I drove) to a doctor 2 hours away who began progesterone injections, which I continued for weeks, as we tried to save my baby. Despite the abortion clinic calling and saying that this would not work, I continued on with my pregnancy, and my second son, Zechariah, was born on 10/20/2013.”

4. This is the 44th Consecutive March

The March for Life has taken place every year since 1974. (Getty)

The March for Life has been taking place every year for the past four decades.

It was started by Nellie Gray, with the first march being held on January 22nd, 1974, the one year anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The event is usually held on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade; this year it was pushed ahead a bit because of all of the inauguration events that took place last week.

The general goal of the march is always to advocate for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, although some years there are more immediate causes to rally for, such as in 2009 when Congress introduced the Freedom of Choice Act, which would declare that every woman has the fundamental right to receive an abortion without restriction. This bill was not ultimately signed into law. This year, President Trump’s forthcoming Supreme Court nominee announcement will certainly be on the minds of all in attendance.

Although no president has ever appeared at the march in person, some previous Republican presidents have supported the event, and President Ronald Reagan and President George W. Bush spoke remotely.

5. President Trump Says the Media Doesn’t Pay Enough Attention to the March

President Donald Trump in recent days has been plugging the March for Life in response to the Women’s March on Washington, saying that the media refuses to cover the anti-abortion rally.

“The crowds were large, but you will have a large crowd on Friday, too, which is mostly pro-life people,” Trump said in an interview with ABC News on Thursday. “You’re going to have a lot of people coming Friday. And I will say this, and I didn’t realize this, but I was told, you will have a very large crowd of people. I don’t know as large or larger. Some people said it will be larger. Pro-life people and they say the press doesn’t cover them.”

Trump again mentioned the march during a speech at a Republican retreat in Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon, saying that the event will be huge and that the press won’t cover it.

It’s not clear how many people will turn out for the March for Life; organizers told The New York Times that they have no way of gauging how many will be there but that they estimate there will be tens of thousands.

No one is abandoning or betraying mothers. It is the mothers who are abandoning and betraying their children. BTW, there is no Constitutional right to an abortion but THERE IS A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO LIFE.

What is the largest organization in the planet against abortion? What is the largest charity on the planet?

SAME ANSWER.

We do NOT abandon and betray mothers. We love them, hold their hands, weep with them, listen to them, and then offer REAL “choices”. Most women come into an abortion clinic wanting to kill their own children like a trapped bear wants to gnaw off its own leg – they don’t, but they feel they have no choice. So we offer choices. We offer free prenatal care (Planned Parenthood offers NO prenatal care at the vast majority of their clinics; call a clinic today and ask them), free ultrasounds, and free adoption services, diapers, clothes, parenting classes, job services, education assistance, life skills training, housing, everything a woman in a crisis pregnancy could need to help her have real choices available that don’t include gnawing off her leg, but instead, remove the trap and help her heal the wound it caused.

As a woman why had an abortion more than 20 years ago, trust me, to this very day……I was harmed….that is the Gods honest truth. When a women finally realizes what they did, how can it not hurt or cause harm to think you killed your own baby? Please ponder that for a moment. Although some women never regret the decision, or at least that is what they say…..I can’t pretend to even know that but I have yet to know 1 person who has had an abortion and wasn’t dramatically affected by it in one way or another. It took me many years to figure out my seasonal depression…..after much counseling, I figured out that my anxiety and depression fell around the same time as my abortion and then again around the time I would have given birth. Please realize although your group may be louder, get more attention, have more money, you can’t leave out the women who feel like I do as I am no less a woman than you. Most times there are two sides to every story but time, there are three sides.

Wow that’s an insult to so many women in your group as I am sure you have many adopted women in your group. Point is, should they not know ALL their options and not just your convient options? And please don’t tell me you tell them about the crisis pregnancy centers cause we all you do not. We all know the upper management of PP has quotas so you don’t want to lose any business just like any other major corp.

I work in a crisis pregnancy center and again, PP spreads lies about the services they provide. Their primary, money making, organization are primarily contraception and abortion services period…..end of discussion. Continue to lie all you want because we have young women who contact you first wanting help with material items to help care for a child and that is what we do, along with free counseling, parenting classes, free pregnancy test, diapers, wipes, baby swings, clothes for every season and need, new and gently used, as well as many other items a women needs to care for her baby. And we continue to assist her with all of these needs and more (including information to where she can obtain all the free woman’s care she may need…we do not however refer to abortion providers and we, unlike PP, are very open and honest about who we are, and what services we do and do not offer. And we also have basic food needs for mom and baby in many centers…but not all. Lastly, we also offer services for women who suffer from regret and anguish over having had an abortion…..which I can assure you, from my very own personal experience, yes they were very kind and caring during the procedure, I will give you that one. (after I handed over the cash before the procedure of course). So if you are reading this and have had an abortion and regret it, or if you think you may be pregnant, and need to talk to people like myself, please contact your local crisis pregnancy care center near you first before you make a decision you can’t take back. At least you can walk out on us……we don’t mind…you are free to come and go as you please. PP required money upfront for my abortion and it was non refundable as soon as I handed it to them, even If i changed my mind …which kind of added to the feeling as if I truely had no other choice which added to my pain. Care❤️Net is a NOT FOR PROFIT ORGANIZATION that depends on generous supporters and volunteers …and NOT tax payer money…………We do not judge you and we love you and we will still continue to love you even if you leave our office and go to PP, you are always welcome back for support and love after….just one more option that I guarantee they will not tell you about when you call them. When girls come to us, they already know PP…we don’t have to tell them anything because they make so much money on abortions they can freely advertise at will……everywhere….including in public schools…….as young as kindergarten thanks to Dept of Education, children are introduced to their propaganda. Check out Common Core or I am happy to provide more info on what is happening in public schools. God Bless every single woman out there…EVERYONE…..including the girl you may be carrying.

Like so many Christians you are very selective over the parts of the bible you choose to inflict on other people. The bible also has some very clear messages against blood transfusion. I take it you wouldn’t mind if I canvas the government to end that treatment as well. Hope you don’t ever need one.

Please refer me to the part about blood transfusions if you would as I would like to research that statement. I hope she ever needs one either…LIKE I DID…….and trust me…once a woman finally realizes she killed her own child (just stating a fact) it causes a lifetime of harm……but that’s just me and everyone I personally know who have had an abortion and I know lots of them at age 52!!!!!!!!!!